Sola Gratia Farm is a community-based farm enterprise dedicated to producing locally-grown, high-quality, natural produce. Responding to the Gospel, the Farm is committed to helping those who lack adequate food resources by donating ten percent of its produce to support regional hunger programs. The Farm promotes healthy lifestyles and community building through education, service and outreach programs.

Sola Gratia Farm is a four-acre community garden located behind St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Urbana, Il. For years this land had been in production of corn and soybeans raised to support families and communities abroad suffering from chronic poverty and hunger. We have now turned the use of the farm more locally and have developed what is commonly known as a CSA, or community supported agriculture enterprise. Sola Gratia Farm developed out of a joint vision with St. Matthew Lutheran Church of Urbana, which owns the land, and an organization called Faith in Place, whose fundamental ministry is aiding communities of faith develop responsible and sustainable practices.

Sola Gratia is Latin for ‘by grace alone,’ and arose as a rallying cry of the Reformation. Its original context asserts that our salvation is the work of Christ alone, which we receive as a gift of grace. That is the spirit of this farm. We acknowledge that this land is a gift from God and are now committed to sharing its bounty with our immediate community in the form of fresh, naturally produced vegetables available to shareholders, and with the commitment to share at least ten percent of the farm’s production with the Eastern Illinois Food Bank and other hunger abatement programs. As we receive in grace, so we share in grace.

The Farm will also be a venue for teaching the values of stewardship and the care of creation, for community building through volunteer opportunities, field days and an annual harvest festival, for strengthening the link between farmer and consumer, and for lifting up our responsibilities to one another, especially those who suffer from inadequate food resources or hunger.

If you are interested in being a part of this exciting new ministry, please click here.